Story of Transatlantic Flight

by David Beaty

The Atlantic had proved a graveyard for many ships, and when the first butterfly craft began to fly it after the First World War, all the omens warned that it would swallow up planes as well. Nonetheless, the pioneers - Read, Alcock and Brown, Lindbergh, as well as many who gambled and lost - continued to pit themselves against the odds. David Beaty involves us not only in the drama of man against the elements but in the increasingly vehement struggle of man against the race to be first, the race to beat the ships, the race to run a commercial airline, the race to be fastest. Opening with a passenger in the mid-70's who is taking off in a jumbo jet, he unfolds the tapestry of what went the vision and blindness, the guesses, mistakes and waste, the political interference and technical advances, the personalities, the tragedies, the commitment and the successes.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

David Beaty is a British author of fictional and non-fictional works. He got a Master degree in history (1940) at Merton College, Oxford, and a Master degree in psychology (1965) at University College, London. He was trained pilot in the Royal Air Force during the 2nd World War. His works focus on aviation, especially on psychological aspects of aircraft pilots.

Beaty was born in 1919 in Ceylon, married in 1948 to Betty Smith, a writer herself (see Betty Beaty), and is father of three daughters. He died in 1999.

Sources:
- Europa Publications (Editor), International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004, Psychology Press, 2003
- Ken Beere, Obituary: David Beaty , Independent, 22.12.1999